Items I wasted money on

[Corrado]

Lately, I have read and enjoyed many reviews here on new products that interest me. Everyone seemed to have generally positive comments about the various models of what was being discussed.

Over the weekend I was doing a little organizing and found my box of satellite items that I had purchased new over the years that were defective right out of the box. Since some of these items are still selling today online I thought I would share my experiences with others.

The Pauxis C Band LNBF model PX-900. Does nothing, no output at all. Also has a ridiculously small scalar ring. Didn't try to use for several months after eBay purchase and Chinese seller no longer active. Bought several Geosat Pro C2s instead and using today.

All 3 Xtreme II Digital Ku Band Single LNBFs are useless. The frequency is off by at least 6-7 mhz. At first I didn't realize what was going on until I tried a blind scan on a fixed dish already pointed. A few years ago I wasted plenty of time trying to point a new install with those. Once again, too late for a refund or exchange because I didn't use them for quite awhile after purchase. The skew angle seems strange also as compared to other brands.

The WSI model WS4210HD 4X1 DiSEqC is dead on port 2. I bought 3 and the others were OK and have been in use for several years outside. I didn't want to use it since it malfunctions when tested on multiple receivers. I mainly saved it for the enclosure. This one surprised me it was bad because it's from a company I trust.

 

[Mr Tony]

there's too many items I have bought that I basically should have kept the money in my pocket

lemme mull over what they were but I know it was a LOT of receivers

 

[PopcornNMore]

The money you spent was an investment in learning about new FTA products and you probably enjoyed waiting for them to arrive and testing them when these products became available.

 

[Mr Tony]

The money you spent was an investment in learning about new FTA products and you probably enjoyed waiting for them to arrive and testing them when these products became available.

and finding out that most of them were only designed for stealing and were JUNK for FTA made it way less enjoyable

 

[PopcornNMore]

The money I spend to support my FTA satellite habit is probably far less than someone who spends their money on cigarettes or alcohol to support their habits.

 

[FaT Air]

I like a beer now and then. But money spent on video and FTA equipment that didn't work 'as advertised' is well, what's the word limit on a post?? Can't take picture, 'cause I chucked it all. Buyer Beware, as there's hardly anything that can be done if confronted with false advertising today.

 

[Mr Tony]

exactly. Don't know how many receivers I bought that claimed blind scan only to either be piss poor or non existent.

Until I got the MicroHD I had my Coolsat 5000 set up because alot of receivers I tried in between had bad motor functions

 

[USDownlink]

Two words: "AZbox" and "ME".

Wait, two more words: "Absolute" and "$#!^".

The money I spend to support my FTA satellite habit is probably far less than someone who spends their money on cigarettes or alcohol to support their habits.

Can't we do all three? I never considered a drink and a smoke a bad idea while waiting for a blind scan to finish! This example might be a bit specific to my experience, but if you've ever tried to blind scan 107.3 with a Fortec, 'forever' is a reasonable approximation of how long it will take.

and finding out that most of them were only designed for stealing and were JUNK for FTA made it way less enjoyable

Until I got the MicroHD I had my Coolsat 5000 set up

The power supply in my Viewsat finally gave up about a year ago. Even in this era of disposabile electronics, Viewsat set new records, and JUNK for FTA is an understatement. You turned me on to the CS5K, but the one I bought used ($10! wasn't good for stealing anymore, apparently) gave up last year as well. The failure mode on that one deserves more investigation - it declined gradually to the point it won't even boot up anymore - not a power supply and not firmware.

As that pertains to the topic at hand, beware of all the theft targeted units, and if you are reading this two years ago, don't pay more than $10 for one. The new siren song in the FTA arena is the AZbox and the lure of open source development.

 

[Corrado]

I do not really feel disappointed in the receivers I have purchased over the years except one Motorola DSR410 that I lost due to the battery that failed. I still think that Skyvision should have replaced them before offering for sale. No more Digicipher for me. It's already been a year since I switched.

Other failed items over the years were a direct result of lightning and not the product itself.

 

[Kraven]

WSI 6footer ÈspecialÈ. Had I known WSI knew these were sub-standard, Ièd would have stayed away é
Cheers, K

PS- darn French settings got activated.

 

[Pepper]

The money I spend to support my FTA satellite habit is probably far less than someone who spends their money on cigarettes or alcohol to support their habits.

... or hunting, or fishing, or fast cars, or ...

 

[Babadem]

a few receivers fall into that category.

 

[Anole]

... or hunting, or fishing, or fast cars, or ...

...wild women, song, or drink...

I've gotten a blind scan receiver that didn't,
...an ortho feed that wasn't what I expected,
... a 6-pack (lifetime supply) of a certain fine C-band LNBF.

But by listening to the comments on SatGuys, and not being an early adopter,
I haven't been hurt badly nor gotten too upset. -

What probably annoys me more, is when someone asks for help,
gets a great response, and then doesn't take it.
There's really not a lot of excuse for anyone being burned by junk, any more.


posted from iPhone 4

 

[Magic Static]

Satellite stuff is like TinkerToys. You can put together all kinds of stuff and take it apart and make something different. I've bought a lot of stuff I havn't used yet. And a lot I don't use anymore. Some stuff don't work like it should. But I hate to throw any of it out

 

[RT-Cat]

The money I spend to support my FTA satellite habit is probably far less than someone who spends their money on cigarettes or alcohol to support their habits.

(Soap-box time)
One correction there PopcornNMore, cigarettes are NOT a habit. They are an addiction to a killing drug known as nicotine. More addictive than cocaine. That is why you hear, "I gotta have a cigarette, now." The addiction tells them they must have a "fix." A habit is easy to break. Far too many of my friends have died due to cigarettes.
(End of soap-box time)

T.

 

[pwrsurge]

Two words: "AZbox" and "ME".

Wait, two more words: "Absolute" and "$#!^".

Which firmware image did you try so far? If you tried AzTrino North American edition then we would value your feedback over on the AzBox forum of this site. If you did not try it yet then I encourage you to do so. Several of the features and enhancements made to the firmware are based on feedback from SatelliteGuys members. Version 1.85 is the latest at this time but we are continuously working on enhancing it.


Regards,


PwrSurge
AzBox Canada

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I should go through my basement, I have a ton of old things I am no longer using. Satellite Meters, LNB's, feedhorns, switches...

But no matter whats down there, I don't regret one purchase as I understand the technology keeps getting better and better. Each served their purpose for the time I used them.